2012 Fantasy Baseball: What’s in a Name?

Is Albert Pujols in your lineup because of his name or his performance?

Oftentimes, fantasy baseball owners get a little caught up in the name game – allowing players to occupy their rosters based on name recognition instead of performance while better players, although not as popular, are outperforming them.

It’s important to balance the knowledge of a player’s past performance with an objective look at how they are performing in the moment.

With that in mind, here are 20 stats: 10 for well-known players and 10 for under-the-radar types.

Take what you want to from them, but here they are.

Big Name Stats

1. Albert Pujols’ strikeout rate (12.1%) is the highest it has been since 2001.

2. Clay Bucholz has a 27% HR/FB rate to go with his 9.09 ERA.

3. Since 2010, Jacoby Ellsbury has only played in 183 games.

4. Kevin Youkilis has played in 240 in that same time span.

5. Lance Berkman was hitting .348 before being injured stretching a double into a triple. He’s expected to come off the DL today.

6. Mark Reynolds is striking out in 1-out-of-3 ABs.

7. In his two home starts in 2012, A.J. Burnett has allowed only 2 ERs in 15 IPs with 17 Ks.

8. Alfonso Soriano’s walk rate is 3.8% which is his lowest since 2002. His .051 ISO is the lowest of his career.

9. Ryan Zimmerman’s BB% is up and his K% is down from his career averages. His .263 BABIP is 55 points lower than his career norm.

10. Tim Lincecum is issuing 1.3 walks more than his career average per 9 IPs.

No Name Stats

1. Chris Capuano has a 2.21 ERA for the Dodgers and has lowered his HR/FB rate by more than 4%.

2. Fernando Rodney has surrendered 2 BBs and 0 HRs in 15.2 IP. He also has 14 Ks.

3. Bryan LaHair has a 36.4% HR/FB rate which is 18.8 percent higher than what we are used to seeing out of him.

4. Since being called up to play 57 games in 2011, Jose Altuve has a .296 AVG and 12 SBs.

5. Gio Gonzalez hasn’t allowed a HR in 2012. He also has 41 Ks in 36.2 IP.

6. Kelly Johnson is tied for 12th on the MLB HRs list with 7. Others in the tie for 12th – Miguel Cabrera, Mike Napoli, and David Oritz.

7. Billy Butler is tied for 12th in the league with 23 RBIs. He also has 6 HRs and a .297 AVG.

8. John Jay has a .379 average which is good for 4th best in the majors.

9. Kyle Seager is hitting .298 with 4 HRs, 20 RBIs, and 3 SBs.

10. Tony Campana has 7 SBs in only 17 games.

You can use these nifty nuggets as you see fit. One or two stats does not define a player, but it could draw attention to problem areas or predict a star on the rise. Good luck this weekend and don’t forget to play in daily leagues for cash prizes here for FREE.